Leak Detection Apparatus

ABSTRACT

Leak detection apparatuses located, at least in part, in the deadspace below a floor in an abode wherein the leak detection apparatus captures, detects and signals the presence of leaking water and other aqueous solutions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

This invention concerns an apparatus for indicating when a leak ispresent in a residential waste line such a toilet waste line.

(2) Description of the Art

Every year, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent repairing waterdamage caused by leaking drains, waste lines and toilets in abodes suchas homes, hotels, condominiums and businesses. This problem isparticularly acute in multi-story hotels and condominiums where a leakin an upper unit or room can quickly cause extensive water damage torooms and/or units that lie below.

Attempts have been made to solve this problem by identifying leaks whenthey occur so that they can be stopped before damage ensues. However,the presently known methods, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,032,435, 6,489,985, 4,705,060 and 4,011,553, typically rely uponsensors in water supply lines, in toilet tanks or on floor surfaces toidentify whether or not water is moving through supply lines or toidentify when water is accumulating of floor surfaces.

There are several problems with these existing leak detection systems.One problem is that they are prone to identifying leaks when none arepresent. For example, sensors located on floors will signal a leak whensomeone accidentally spills liquid on a floor. Moreover, systems thatmonitor water flow in pipes can erroneously identify normal water use asthey leak or they might be fooled into believing that water that isleaking is not a leak.

One particularly difficult leak to identify is a leak at a toilet bowlwax seal. This is a problematic location because the wax seal isgenerally placed even with or slightly below the top of a floor and anyleaks that occur at the seal—the point where the waste pipe meets thetoilet bowl—will typically not accumulate on the floor where the toiletbowl is located. Instead, the leak usually manifests itself somewherebelow the floor on which the leaking toilet is located. Therefore, leakdetection systems that rely upon placing a sensor on the floor will notdetect many leaks from toilet bowl wax seals. There is a need,therefore, for an unobtrusive and reliable method for identifying andsignaling leaks in aqueous waste lines in homes, condominiums, offices,mobile homes and other abodes. In particular, there is a need for areliable method to identify and signal the presence of water leakingfrom a toilet waste line.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of this invention is a leak detection apparatus including: anabode having a floor, the floor having a top and an underside and adeadspace below the floor underside; a waste pipe for carrying aqueouswaste associated with an aqueous waste generating unit which is locatedabove the floor top and wherein the waste pipe travels into thedeadspace; a container including an opening positioned below a portionof the waste pipe located in the deadspace; a detector associated withthe container the detector capable to detecting water.

Another aspect of this invention is a leak detection apparatusincluding: an abode having a floor, the floor having a top, an undersideand a deadspace below the floor underside; a toilet located on the floortop; a waste pipe having a first end attached to the toilet, the wastepipe having a length sufficient to direct aqueous toilet waste to alocation outside the abode, wherein the waste pipe travels into thedeadspace; a container having a bottom, sides and an open top whereinthe container open top is located below the waste pipe in the deadspace,the container further including a low point; a conduit having a firstend attached to the tub low point and a second end, the conduit secondend being located below the conduit first end; and a water detectorattached to the conduit second end.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a leak detection apparatus embodiment ofthis invention;

FIG. 2 is a side cutaway view of a leak detection apparatus embodimentof this invention that is associated with a toilet waste line;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are examples of configurations for associating adetector for detecting the presence of water with a container that isuseful in the apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a topographical view of an embodiment of a container useful ina leak detection apparatus of this invention; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a container useful in aleak detection apparatus of this invention that is associated with awaste pipe.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRENT EMBODIMENT

The present invention relates to leak detection apparatus that islocated, at least in part, in the deadspace below a floor in an abode.The apparatus of this invention are capable of capturing, detecting andsignaling the presence of water leaking from a waste generating unit orfrom a waste line that runs through the abode.

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a leak detection apparatus embodiment of thepresent invention. In FIG. 1, an aqueous waste generating unit 16 islocated above or on top 12 of floor 10 in an abode. Floor 10 furtherincludes an underside 14. Waste generating unit 16 is associated withwaste pipe 18 having a first end 20 associated with aqueous wastegenerating unit 16 and a second end 22 associated with a waste stack orwith a waste line located outside of the abode such as a municipal wasteline or a septic tank. A deadspace 24 is located below floor 10.Deadspace 24 is broadly defined as the space below a floor in an abodethat is used for running electrical conduit, heating and airconditioning ducts, water pipes, waste lines and other utilities, pipingand ducts. Generally, deadspace 24 will be formed by struts or beamsthat divide an upper floor 10 from a ceiling 27 of a room on the nextlower floor. However, it is not necessary that deadspace 24 be definedby a lower ceiling 27. For example, where floor 10 lies above a crawlspace, deadspace 24 would be defined as the space between the floorunderside 14 and the ground or slab in the crawl space.

Referring back to FIG. 1, a container 30 having an opening 31 is locatedin deadspace 24 below waste pipe 18. Container 30 will be positionedwith respect to waste pipe 18 in a manner that will provide the mostassurance that any leaks from waste pipe 18 and/or from aqueous wastegenerating unit 16 will be captured in container 30. One skilled in theart will understand where leaks occur from aqueous waste generatingunits and how those leaks drip from waste piping and will be able toposition container 30 such that it can capture water leaking from wastepipes and/or aqueous waste generating units 16. For example, whereaqueous waste generating unit 16 is a toilet 17, such as shown in FIG.2, container 30 will be placed below the toilet wax ring and waste pipefirst end 20. Generally there is an elbow in waste pipe 18 immediatelybelow the toilet and container 30 will be positioned below the elbow aswell. Moreover, most waste pipes 18 will have an elbow immediately belowthe point where the line enters deadspace 24 so that waste pipe 18 canrun laterally to a waste stack or larger waste pipe. Container 30 willgenerally be located below the waste pipe elbow because leaks wouldgenerally but not always drip from pipe 18 into deadspace 24 at theelbow. In FIG. 1, a conduit 40 having a first end 42 associated withcontainer 30 and a second end 44 associated with detector 50 is used todirect leaking waste water captured in container 30 to detector 50.

FIG. 2 represents a current embodiment of a leak detection apparatus ofthis invention. In FIG. 2, a toilet 17 is located on top 12 of floor 10.The abode depicted includes a deadspace 24 defined as the space betweenunderside 14 of floor 10 and the top of ceiling 15 of a lower floor. Acontainer 30 having an open top 31 is located below toilet 17 and belowwaste pipe 18 which emerges from the bottom of toilet 17 and runs intowaste stack 19. A conduit 40 is attached at a first end 42 to the bottomperiphery of container 30. A conduit second end 44 is located in avanity 52 located in a room or space on a floor below the floor on whichtoilet 17 is located.

Conduit 40 will typically be ⅜″ to ½″ diameter PVC pipe. However,conduit 40 can be made from any type of plastics or metal materials usedin building piping. In addition, the diameter of conduit 40 can varydepending on space constraints and venting constraints. A detector 50,in the form of a transparent bottle or jar is attached to second end 44of conduit 40 in FIG. 2. A shut-off valve 46 allows the glass jar to beremoved from conduit second end 44 by unscrewing, unclamping or by someother means while retaining any leaked water in container 30. Shut-offvalve 46 also provides a method for draining waste water in container 30into a bucket or some other disposal container.

In the embodiments discussed above, aqueous waste generating unit 16 maybe any type of unit in a household or building that is capable ofgenerating aqueous waste. Non-limiting examples of such units includebut are not limited to sinks, basins, tubs, toilets, washing machines,humidifiers, dehumidifiers, water softeners and any other device thatcreates an aqueous waste stream in a household or business. As mentionedabove, toilets pose a particularly high leak risk because they areassociated with a waste pipe using often unreliable wax rings andbecause the valves controlling the water inlet into the toilet tankoften malfunction and allow water to run into the toilet waste linecontinuously. Thus, if a gap does exist in the toilet wax ring, each thetime the toilet is flushed, there will be a small leakage of water.Moreover, if the leaking toilet has an inlet valve that also leaks, thenthere can be a continuous leakage of a small amount of water which, overtime, can result in a dramatic amount of damage to walls and ceilings inspaces below the toilet.

Container 30 is an important feature of the leak detector apparatus ofthis invention. Container 30 may be any type of container that iscapable of being installed in deadspace 24 and that is capable ofcapturing water leaking from an aqueous waste generating unit 16 and/ora waste pipe 18. One container embodiment is shown in FIG. 3. Container30 in FIG. 3 includes a pitched bottom surface 32 and side walls 33.Container 30 shown in FIG. 3 also includes a top rim 35 running aroundits top periphery. The combination of container bottom 32, side walls 33and rim 35 forms a reservoir which captures and holds leaking wastewater. Moreover, container 30, shown in FIG. 3, includes an outlet port38 which is connectable to either a detector 50 or to a conduit 40. Thecontainer shown in FIG. 3 may be manufactured from any known containermaterials and is preferably manufactured from plastics used in injectionmolding.

A rigid container 30, such as shown in FIG. 3, is very useful in thepresent invention because it can be easily placed in a deadspace byeither attaching it via its rim 35 to underside 14 of floor 10 or it canbe located in deadspace 24 by other methods such as by suspending itfrom floor joist, by resting on it on top of ceiling 27 or by any othermeans known in the construction art for securing a container, pipes,heating and ventilation ducts and so forth in a deadspace. Preferably,container 30 is attached to the underside 14 of floor 10 usingadhesives, screws or nails, and in the case of cement floors usingtapcons—concrete screws.

Container 30 does not have to be rigid. Container 30 may be made of anymaterial that is able to capture and retain waste water and mostpreferably up to from about 0.5 to 2 gallons or more of waste water. Inan alternative embodiment, container 30 may be made of flexible materialsuch as a thin plastic material like a plastic bag having an open endthat is located below aqueous waste generating unit 16 in deadspace 24.Alternatively, container 30 may be a semi-rigid plastic material likethe plastic containers used in boxed wine containers or cafeteria milkcontainers. Regardless of the material used for its manufacture,container 30 may have an outlet port 38 and, in situations wherecontainer 30 is a flexible or semi-flexible container, the outlet port38 may be welded onto the container at a low point.

It is preferred that container 30 is pitched or that it is manufacturedor installed so that it as a low point where fluid will travel to orcollect. Container 30 shown in FIG. 3 includes a pitched bottom surface32. Pitched surface 32 will direct any leaking water to one edge ofcontainer 30 where it can be either detected in the container ordirected through conduit 40 through to detector 50. In an alternativeembodiment, container 30 may be placed on a pitched surface so containeropening 31 is at the container low point. In addition container 30 canhave a spill over pipe that directs waste water in the container into adrain in the event container 30 becomes filled with waste water.

In a more preferred embodiment, shown in FIG. 5, container 30 willinclude a cut-out 70. A horizontal portion 72 of waste pipe 18 will passthrough cut-out 70. This allows the portion of waste pipe 18 whereleaking would be expected to be located inside container 30. A cut-out70 may be made in container 30 using a saw or other cutting tool.Alternatively, container 30 may be manufactured with a cut-out 70.Cut-out 70 should be large enough for waste pipe 18 to pass through.Waste pipe 18 can include an optional seal 74 such as insulation orgasket material that allows waste pipe 18 to fit snugly into cut-out 70.

A cut-out portion 76 may be placed back into cut-out 70 to furthersecure waste pipe 18 in cut-out 70. Cut-out portion 76 may be attachedto container 30 by gluing, or by any other method known to one skilledin the art. In FIG. 5, cut-out portion 76 is attached to container 30with a strip 78 that can be welded, glued or otherwise attached tocontainer 30. It is useful to replace cut-out portion 76 in container 30to prevent rodents and other vermin from entering container 30. A netplaced over cut out 74 and/or over top 31 of container 30 will perform asimilar function.

Another important feature of the leak detector apparatus of thisinvention is the detector 50. The term “detector” is used herein torefer to any type of device, mechanism, or assembly that is capable ofproviding a visible, audible, electronic so some other indication of thepresence of water. By water, it is meant any type of solution thatincludes at least a small amount of water and preferably 50% or more andmost preferably 95% or more water. Thus, the detector and apparatus ofthis invention can be used to detect a leak that consists of very littleto essentially 100% fresh water.

Examples of detectors that provide a visible indication of the presenceof water include but are not limited to transparent jars, buckets, andapparatuses that detect water and provides an electrical signal that iscapable of being used to activate a light bulb, LED, or some othervisible, audible or mechanical signal to express that the detector hasdetected water. In FIGS. 1 and 2, detector 50 is a transparent vial orbottle is located at the second end 44 of conduit 40 that provides avisible indication of the presence of water. The visible indicationbeing the presence of water in the vial. In one embodiment, a powderedwater soluble dye or other material that colors the waste water thatdrops into the vial or bottle may be used to enhance the visibleindication of the presence of the water. Another detector that providesa visible indication of the presence of water is a detector thatprovides an electrical signal when it water contacts. Such detectors arediscussed, for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,032,435, 6,489,985, 4,705,060and 4,011,553, the specifications of each of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

Detector 50 may be placed directly into container 30, either in the topof the container or associated with the bottom or low point in container30. If detector 50 is directly associated with container 30, thenconduit 40 may be completely omitted from the assembly. In thisembodiment, shown in FIG. 4A, detector 50 is electrically connected viaelectrical line 53 to a switch 54 that activates a light bulb or someother visible, audible or electrical indication of the presence ofwater. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4B, detector 50 is a visibledetector that is associated with a conduit attached to the bottom edgeof container 30.

Where an audible indication of the presence of water is desired, thendetector 50 may be associated with a switch that turns on a siren, abeeper or some other device for providing an audible indication of thepresence of water. The term audible indication as used hereinencompasses sending a signal to a system to provide an indication of thepresence of water in the form of a telephone call, an alarm, a beep, avoicemail message, an email message and so forth and includes sending asignal to a monitored alarm system.

In another embodiment, an electrical signal activated by detector 50 canactuate a valve to close it to stop water supply to the leaking wastegenerating unit.

In still another embodiment a single water detector can be used todetect leaking water captured by a plurality of containers 30. In oneaspect of this embodiment, each of the plurality of containers 30 willinclude a different color dye so that the source of the leak can beidentified by the color of water collected in, for example a visibledetector 50. In yet another embodiment, chlorine tablets can be placedin container 30 to disinfect any leaking waste water.

Although certain presently preferred embodiments of the invention havebeen described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the artto which the invention pertains that variations and modifications of thedescribed embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the inventionbe limited only to the extent required by the appended claims and theapplicable rules of law.

1. A leak detection apparatus comprising: an abode having a floor, thefloor having a top and an underside and a deadspace below the floorunderside; an aqueous waste generating unit which is located on or abovethe floor top; a waste pipe having a first end associated with theaqueous waste generating unit wherein at least a portion of the wastepipe is located in the deadspace; a container including an openingpositioned below a portion of the waste pipe located in the deadspace;and a detector associated with the container, the detector capable ofdetecting the presence of water.
 2. The leak detection apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the aqueous waste generating apparatus is selected fromthe group consisting of sinks, washing machines, bath tubs, showers,toilets, humidifiers, and furnaces.
 3. The leak detection apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the aqueous waste generating apparatus is a toilet. 4.The leak detection apparatus of claim 1 wherein the container has abottom, side walls and an open top.
 5. The leak detection apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the container is a plastic bag having an open top. 6.The leak detection apparatus of claim 2 wherein the container has a lowpoint and a conduit having a first end associated with a container lowpoint and wherein the detector is attached to the conduit second end. 7.The leak detection apparatus of claim 6 wherein the conduit second endis located below the conduit first end.
 8. The leak detection apparatusof claim 1 wherein the detector provides a visible indication of thepresence of water.
 9. The leak detection apparatus of claim 1 whereinthe detector provides an electronic indication of the presence of water.10. The leak detection apparatus of claim 1 wherein the detectorprovides an audible indication of the presence of water.
 11. The leakdetection apparatus of claim 7 wherein the detector is transparentbottle located at the second end of the conduit.
 12. The leak detectionapparatus of claim 11 wherein the transparent bottle contains an aqueousactivated dye.
 13. The leak detection apparatus of claim 1 wherein thecontainer rests on a platform in the deadspace.
 14. The leak detectionapparatus of claim 1 wherein the container is attached to the undersideof the floor.
 15. A leak detection apparatus comprising: an abode havinga floor, the floor having a top and an underside and a deadspace belowthe floor underside; a toilet located on the floor top; a waste pipehaving a first end attached to the toilet, the waste pipe having alength sufficient to direct aqueous toilet waste to a location outsidethe abode, wherein the waste pipe travels into the deadspace; acontainer having a bottom, sides and an open top wherein the containeropen top is located below the waste pipe in the deadspace, the containerfurther including a low point; a conduit having a first end attached tothe container low point and a second end located below the conduit firstend; and a detector attached to the conduit second end.
 16. The leakdetection apparatus of claim 15 wherein the detector is selected fromthe group consisting of a detector that provides a visible indication ofthe presence of water, a detector that provides an audible indication ofthe presence of water and a detector the provides an electronicindication of the presence of water.
 17. The leak detection apparatus ofclaim 15 wherein the water detector is a transparent bottle.
 18. Theleak detection apparatus of claim 17 wherein the transparent bottlecontains water activated dye.
 19. The leak detection apparatus of claim16 wherein the conduit second end in located in a vanity that lies in aspace below the floor and deadspace.
 20. The leak detection apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the container includes one side having a cut-out andwherein a portion of the waste pipe in the deadspace is located in thecontainer such that a horizontal portion the waste pipe passes throughthe cut-out.